CHAMIZO – Beyond the Walls

From Confinement to Creation, this exhibition dedicated to Chamizo explores the extraordinary journey of the artist alongside the history of the former Saint-Paul Prison, now transformed into a university. During his imprisonment, Chamizo founded a painting workshop and, together with fellow inmates, created a mural in the underground passage connecting Saint-Paul and Saint-Joseph prisons. It was also while incarcerated that he produced his first series, Freedom, and developed his distinctive artistic language, which he called Lettered Abstract Figuration.

The exhibition brings together original works, including large-scale paintings and sculptures, a photographic archive documenting the artist's career, and archival materials such as original issues of L'Écrou, the newspaper he co-founded during his imprisonment. It sheds light on a life profoundly shaped by questions of freedom and identity. His work explores the inequalities and contradictions of contemporary society, always with a touch of humour and provocation. Through this journey, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on a universal question: how can creativity bring light into the heart of darkness, transforming a place of confinement into a space of hope, renewal, and transmission?